Christian hip-hop artist and apologist Emanuel “Da’ T.R.U.T.H.” Lambert releases his new book Forgive Me If I Was Rude: The Art of Having Complicated, Faith-Based Conversations today, October 6, 2026.
What is Forgive Me If I Was Rude about?
The book deals with situations where Christians may know what they believe but struggle with how to explain those beliefs when a discussion becomes difficult, and publisher, David C Cook describes it as a guide to having hard conversations with greater emotional intelligence, particularly when discussions move into subjects that can quickly become personal, where Lambert looks at both the intellectual content of Christian answers and the way people respond when they feel challenged.
The book is intended for conversations that happen both online and in person, reflecting the fact that arguments about faith now take place across social media, comment sections, private messages and ordinary conversations as well as in churches and formal apologetics settings.
What is the AEAA framework?
One of the book's main practical tools is a four-step approach called AEAA:
Affirmation
Empathy
Ask
Answer
The idea is to change the order and tone of a difficult conversation - instead of immediately responding to an objection with a counterargument, Lambert's framework begins by recognizing the other person's perspective, showing empathy and asking questions before giving an answer.
Every chapter will also end with a section called “Curious Conversations”, - these sections present sample exchanges between a believer and a sceptic, including objections, responses and possible ways of approaching the discussion.
Lambert's own interest in apologetics developed from his own questions about Christianity, as he experienced several crises of faith, including intellectual, theological and emotional struggles, and believed that working through them forced him to examine what he believed and ultimately strengthened his faith, which became part of the motivation behind the book.
Lambert has also spent more than two decades working across Christian music, ministry and apologetics, and he holds certification in Christian Apologetics from the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and founded Intelligent Faith, an organisation intended to help Christians develop a more informed and confident faith.
From Christian hip-hop to Christian publishing
Lambert is better known to many Christian music listeners as Da’ T.R.U.T.H - he has released 13 albums, sold more than 250,000 records, and toured with artists including Kirk Franklin and Mary Mary, and his music career has also brought significant industry recognition, with five Stellar Awards, three Dove Award nominations and three Grammy nominations among his achievements.
His music has allowed him to communicate Christian ideas through hip-hop, while Forgive Me If I Was Rude concentrates on the conversations that happen when those ideas are questioned or challenged.
The paperback edition contains 240 pages, while the audiobook is narrated by Emanuel Lambert and Gabe Wicks and runs for 5 hours and 37 minutes.
Forgive Me If I Was Rude: The Art of Having Complicated, Faith-Based Conversations is available to order now on Amazon.
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